For ease of manufacture, aircrafts are built in segments end-jointed together, which are then transported to an assembly site.
Each segment comprises a structural portion, a skin and a circuit for fluidic as well as energetic transmission, like an electrical circuit. The electrical circuit comprises various electrical harnesses, each having several electrical cables, with the harnesses of two segments being connected together by connectors.
Each cable in an electrical harness has an effective section and an overlength section making it possible to create, on the one hand, a repair length used for repairing a cable when the latter is damaged, and on the other hand, a water droplet-shaped length making it possible to create, on the cable, a U-shaped area along which condensed water streams not to reach the end of the cables and thus the harness connectors.
To facilitate the connection between the harnesses of two abutting segments, the connectors are preferably positioned at a predetermined position on the respective segment thereof, i.e. the cables all extend in the same plane at least at one end of the harness so that mounting each of the cables in a common connection is easy.
The predetermined position and the overlength portion of the cables in the harnesses make it necessary to tension the harness so that it cannot move when the aircraft is flying, since the movement of a harness creates vibrations and unpleasant noise for the passengers on the aircraft.
A known technique for tensioning harnesses consists in fixing the harness at at least one point on a structural crossbeam of the segment, using clamp collars, so that the harness has alternating troughs and crests with respect to the crossbeam, with the troughs and crests absorbing the overlength of the harness.
This technique is particularly suitable for installing harnesses on the segments but has the main drawback of requiring a large number of clamp collars and a significant force from the mounting operators to hold the harness on the crossbeam, because of the heavy weight of an electrical harness.
Besides, this technique is not really, or even not at all suitable, when one of the cables has to be repaired.
As a matter of fact, repairing a cable reduces the length thereof, so that said cable has to be removed from the harness since its shortened length does not make it possible for such cable to follow the initial set of troughs and crests of the harness. When a cable is detached from the harness, it should be fixed separately from the harness either on the structural crossbeam or on the harness itself.
Separately fixing said repaired cable increases the number of clamp collars and extends the time required for the maintenance operation during which said cable is repaired. The duration of the maintenance operation is further extended by the need, for the operator, to remove the cable to be repaired from each collar, and this operation can be tiring for the operator, when said cable to be repaired is jammed and held very tight by other cables in the harness.
Eventually, the alternating troughs and crests in the harness require an important space which cannot be used for other purposes such as fixing other elements of the aircraft, for instance.